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More Information:
Mary LaFrance
734-282-6935
Carol Izant
248-352-6137
Mosquito Bucks And Bites Debated
Will Oakland
County’s West Nile Plan Create More Killer Mosquitoes?
At 7:00 pm on Thursday, April
3, 2003 at The Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church in Southfield,
Sierra Club will feature one of Wayne State University’s premier infectious
disease medical specialists who will be joined by three leaders in the West
Nile virus mosquito spraying controversy. The discussion will center on Oakland
County’s ambitious mosquito control program—a plan to fund high-risk chemical
spraying that may be ineffective and could actually weaken our defenses to
the disease. Oakland County in 2002 was the epicenter of West Nile in Michigan,
a state with one of the highest rates of West Nile infection in the country.
The disease killed 48 Michigan residents last year and public health officials
in Oakland County have a plan of attack this year. But is the plan more hazardous
to humans than the mosquitoes? Will it really work? Or are we laying the
groundwork for creating a population of killer mosquitoes who become highly
resistant to chemical sprays? The program will focus on these questions and
possible alternatives to spraying.
Who: Dr. Jack Ebright, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division
of Infectious Diseases, Wayne State University; Ray Meeseman, Ray Meeseman
Company; Robin Hayes, Bat Conservation of Michigan, and;
Laura Erpelding, People Against Chemical Contamination Political Action Committee
What: Southeast Michigan Group of Sierra Club program
When: Thursday April 3, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church
26550 Evergreen Road, Southfield, MI 48076
(south of Eleven Mile on the east side of Evergreen)
Background
Sixty-one communities in Oakland County are eligible for funding to implement
a mosquito control program to thwart the West Nile Virus. West Nile is a
mosquito-borne virus, carried by the Culex pipiens mosquito that is commonly
found in urban areas. Municipalities in Oakland County will be using larvicide
and mosquito traps to monitor mosquito breeding. Biological controls such
as larvicides, will be used in catch basins and other areas while "targeted"
sprays will be applied if necessary, using malathion, pyrethroids, Anvil
and any number of other chemicals. Sierra Club has serious concerns about
the planned spraying. It is believed spraying natural areas and wetlands
could threaten non-targeted organisms like birds and beneficial insects.
Pesticide spraying often results in new generations of pesticide resistant
mosquitoes. Entomologists question a spray-based strategy that will likely
kill a limited number of mosquitoes with reinvasion of treated areas reoccurring
within hours.
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